military strike. the u.s. evidence could be made public today to balance it out. we are going to cover every angel of it beginning with dana top obama officials insisted to lawmakers on the thursday night conference call they have no doubt ba sar assad's regime in syria was behind deadly chemical attacks there. secretaries of state, defense and others backed that up by revealing to lawmakers that the u.s. intercepted communications from a high level syrian official, which clearly indicates they were responsible for these weapons, that according to congressman el yol engel who participated in the call. though obama insists no decisions have been made, cnn is also told they privately made clear to lawmakers that chemical

weapons in syria is such a threat the u.s. could engage with or without support from great britain. bob corker emerged from briefings thursday announcing support for surgical proportional military strikes, given the evidence of continued use of chemical warfare. bob menendez reaffirmed his support saying a decisive and consequential u.s. response is justified and warranted. . others argued the president still has to come before congress and the american people before he acts. >> it's up to the president to sell this to the american people. >> reporter: this attempt to consult with members of congress didn't leave everybody satisfied and that's really an understatement. several republicans said that what the administration said was far too vague especially when it comes to plans for military action. there could be several reasons,

these members were back home in their districts and states and some on cell phones, talking on an unsecured line. anything they were told had to be unclassified. >> sounds like some lawmakers and some of the american public need more information before they're convinced. let's get more on the stunning political defeat in parliament for british prime minister david cameron. the government saying no to any military action. cnn's atika shubert is in london. how significant is this decision by the british parliament? >> very significant, a stunning defeat, 285-272, check out the headlines, this is on every paper out here today, the key word being a humiliating defeat. basically what this means is that britain has been ruled out of taking any military action on syria. cameron has said he literately said "i get that," said he will respect lawmakers' decision and that means president obama will

be going it alone without the help of great britain. >> thank you very much for that. interesting contrast there. in the uk they bring in the parliamentary body, they have a vote and it is voted down to take any action. here they do it by conference call, some people can hear, some people can't, it's declassified. are we following it the right way. what we're doing now is now giving way to the question of when. barbara starr, what do we know in terms of particular timing here? >> chris, the u.s. navy has five destroyers equipped with tomahawk unmanned cruise missiles off the coast in the eastern mediterranean. they could be ready to fire within minutes of order from the president. it awaits a presidential order. they feel the intercepts definitely link it to the regime, a key question was

bashar al assad's hand on the button. they say that's too classified to reveal at this point but it doesn't matter, that they believe they have the firm evidence the regime was behind it, so it's simply awaiting a decision by president obama to do this. there's something much deeper unfolding beyond syria at this point, the use of chemical weapons and the president feels the obama administration feels they have to respond to this as bad as it is for syria that this is an historic atrocity, you can't let it go unanswered, you can't let the world see the united states just sit by and have people killed by the use of chemical weapons. chris? kate? >> all right, thank you very much, barbara. it's interesting, last thursday we weren't hearing that at all from the president of the united states. he was saying international law, the need for a coalition, let's be careful. we don't know what happened and what the right response is. now all of a sudden it seems you

have to go and attack. >> the only question that seems to remain is when and how. >> a hard shift. >> let's find out what's happening inside syria this morning. fred pleitgen was the only western network reporter in the country this week. he's now in beirut. what is the latest from there? >> reporter: hi, kate. it seems as though the syrian regime is presenting their side of the story today, the defense minister came out in a call with the iranian defense minister and said the syrians have evidence it was the rebels who used chemical weapons on the battlefield, something they've been saying for quite a while. the u.s. doesn't believe that but what's going on today is that it's the final day of the weapons inspectors working on the ground and today they are actually in the government-held part of damascus and they're visiting a military hospital there that allegedly has some of these victims from the government side of these chemical weapons atacks, they're talking to them, visiting that hospital and after that saturday the weapons inspectors are going

to leave the country. the latest that i have from on the ground in damascus, they say people are nervous about potential u.s. strikes. lot of people are stocking up on food, brought their families and children to nearby lebanon. people aren't fleeinging in great numbers, waiting to see what happens and also apparently a lot of military movement on the ground, the military moving hardware around possibility to try and avoid u.s. air strikes. kate? >> the latest we're hearing is the u.n. weapons inspectors expected to be pulled out possibly tomorrow, so we'll have to see what they find and what that means for any military action. fred, thank you so much for bringing that to us from beirut. coming up later on "new day," we'll speak with retired marine corps general anthony zinny and the options the u.s. has for carrying out a military strike. we're going to stay on the story but we have news of a

blockbuster settlement that may close the legal fight over head injuries in the nfl now. the league agreeing to pay $765 million to more than 4,500 former players and their families. let's bring in andie scholes with "the bleacher report." is this a good settlement? how is it being received? what does it mean? >> it's good they got it done now. this case could have dragged out for years. by settling it the dark cloud around the league goes away and the players who have concussion-related injuries will get the help they need. for years the nfl and its retired players have been at odds how to address head injuries on the field. thursday it ends the fighting and puts money toward medical exams, legal compensation, legal fees and medical research. here's thousand breaks down.

>> i think it's a good day for thousands of football players who are dealing with different afflictions from playing the game of football. >> reporter: num ruls prominent players like hall of fame winner tony dorsett and the family of junior seau are part of the case, it clears the nfl from having to admit any liability or brain-related injuries were caused by football. many consider that a huge win for the envelope and its owners. >> they're almost certainly going to be able to eliminate any future lawsuit from former players about head injuries. >> reporter: while $754 million seems like a big number some think the players could have done better considering last year alone the nfl had a revenue of $9.2 billion. >> you consider the potential risk the nfl had of going to

trial, the potential exposure was in the billions and that's a conservative estimate. >> the agreement is in the hands of judge anita brody who must approve the deal. former players can still voice their opposition. only players who have retired by the time the concussion settlement is approved, but all retired players involved in the lawsuit or not can take a baseline test and chris it's those test results that will be used to determine the amount of money they will receive from this settlement now and in the future. >> andy, thank you very much. appreciate it. have a great weekend, by the way. >> you, too. >> very confusing because when you don't know enough about what caused the concussion and what the damage is, when you can't prove it, you don't know how to value it and you also don't know how to use that science to stop it on the field so who knows. >> it's one thing to have a settlement to pay it out but it's that looking forward what does this mean for the game and how can we make it safer if we can. >> that's right. >> it's still a lingering question. >> we want to talk about this more so later on "new day" we'll

have former nfl running back clinton porter, great for the broncos and redskins, wearing his redskins jersey. he sued the nfl over concussions, he knows the game and the toll concussions can take very well so we'll get his perspective. one thing on everybody's mind today, labor day weekend, folks are hitting the road this labor day weekend. aaa says 34 million americans will be traveling more than 50 miles from home, up more than 4% from last year so we've got all these angles covered. indra pedersons is here with your holiday forecast. let's get straight to indra, what is the forecast? >> you can tell i'm already nerve to us tell everyone. there's one place that will get better, the midwest, temperatures that are 15 to 20 degrees above normal are going to start to cool, here is the difference between saturday and sunday, it's thanks to a cold front, those temperatures dropping 15, even 20 degrees. unfortunately there's a cold front we're also going to be

talking about showers and only gets worse as the weekend continues. here is what it looks like today. as we go in through tomorrow the ohio valley you'll start to see some showers. there are two cold fronts so it gets worse as we go in through, yes, saturday in through sunday, notice we start to see the northeast and mid-atlantic starting to go down in the southeast and sunday into monday is when it gets the toughest, we merge the two systems together to get just what everyone wants is rain right on labor day forecast. you're welcome. >> need to know it, though. thanks so much. we'll check back in. >> labor day all about the working man and woman. problem is that's who's going to be most affected by gas prices. christine what do we know about the cost it will fill up to make the drives this weekend? >> last year was the most expensive labor day ever for driving and this year it will be a lot better. you have about 20 cents lower the average price of gas compared with last year and that's why aaa says more people will be on the road, $3.83 last year so you're getting a little

bit of a break this time around. this is why the lower gas prices are why more are expected to be driving. 4.2% more will be headed out and 29.2 million in a car, average distance about 594 miles. aaa says the best time to leave for your weekend, en route by 1:00 p.m. yesterday, but gas prices will be better this weekend. >> all right, so indra petersons failed us on the weather, christine romans gave us good news for business, now we'll roll it to michaela and see if we can keep it positive. one each way. you make the decision whether or not the news is good for the weekend. >> actually we have some progress to report on the fire conditions out in california. >> good. >> firefighters are seizing on the cooler conditions and calmer winds there to keep that rim fire from moving deeper into yosemite national park, and evacuation advisory lifted in northern california, fire crews

are tightening their grip on the fire. close to 200,000 acres have burned so far. straight or gay the irs will recognize your marriage, a new policy allows any legal lly married couple will allow them to file jointly. a new report in "the washington post" offering more detail about the raid that killed osama bin laden, it says forensic intelligence agents working in afghanistan confirmed his identity eight hours after he was killed using dna from his corpse. "the post" information is based on data from leaker edward snowden. friday marks san diego mayor bob filner's final day in office at 5:00, city council president

todd gloria will take over as interim mayor and a special election is set for november 19th. gloria allred is celebrating his last day, she represents several women harassed by filner. new york is a great place but it took a couple of kittens to shut down the subway, service came to a halt thursday for 90 minutes as they looked for the fugitive fee lines, the rail could be deadly to an unsuspecting cat. at first there was no luck finding the kittens but they were found hours later and taken to a local animal shelter. it would really anger commuters, but come on, look at that face. >> got to save the kittens. good stuff. >> and they did. that's some good news. we'll take a break here on "new day." when we come back the weekend come up all about the working man and woman. fast food workers walk out over money. they're not the only ones

pushing for higher wages. the question is will this day of action make a difference? we'll tell you about it. also ahead a popular pill getting a new warning, bright red lettering on a bottle of extra strength tylenol. its maker says it's all about preventing overdoses. we'll get into that coming up. when we made our commitment to the gulf, bp had two big goals: help the gulf recover and learn from what happened so we could be a better, safer energy company. i can tell you - safety is at the heart of everything we do. we've added cutting-edge technology,

like a new deepwater well cap and a state-of-the-art monitoring center, where experts watch over all drilling activity twenty-four-seven. and we're sharing what we've learned, so we can all produce energy more safely. our commitment has never been stronger.

[ male announcer ] staying warm and dry has never been our priority. our priority is, was and always will be serving you, the american people. so we improved priority mail flat rate to give you a more reliable way to ship. now with tracking up to eleven scans, specified delivery dates, and free insurance up to $50 all for the same low rate. [ woman ] we are the united states postal service. [ man ] we are the united states postal service. [ male announcer ] and our priority is you. go to usps.com® and try it today. [ male announcer ] and our priority is you. nascar is about excitement. but tracking all the action and hearing everything from our marketing partners, the media and millions of fans on social media can be a challenge. that's why we partnered with

hp to build the new nascar fan and media engagement center. hp's technology helps us turn millions of tweets, posts and stories into real-time business insights that help nascar win with our fans. welcome back to "new day." though we are headed into a celebration of labor it was a day on the picket lines for thousands of fast food workers. organizers call it the biggest demonstration yet in a battle for higher ages. the question is will it do the trick. could this moment be a tipping point in the broader battle over the minimum wage? we bring back christine romans for the latest.

>> this is tens of thousands of people across the country, it was the biggest organization yet and folks who were protesting in the streets say this is just the beginning, they're going to keep talking and protesting until they get fair pay. thousands of fast food workers in nearly 60 cities coast to coast walked off their jobs in a one day protest, beating drums, blowing whistles and shouting for higher wages. >> most of them are young adults with families, and they cannot afford to survive on $7.25. >> reporter: major national fast food chains including mcdonald's, burger king and wendy's hit hard by the strike. in new york city a mcdonald's jam-packed with fired up workers. >> i would like to see one of those big bosses come down from their offices and come and live our lives for at least one month. >> reporter: in chicago protesters swarmed this mcdonald's trying to persuade fellow workers to join them in their fight to help them unionize and raise the minimum

wage to $15 an hour. currently the average wage for fast food workers is $9 an hour, just over $18,500 a year, well below the poverty line of $23,000 for a family of four. >> the pay is stagnant. it's not going anywhere. >> reporter: the fight to raise the minimum wage at a critical turning point in the nation's capital. the controversial living wage bill expected to be on the washington, d.c., mayor's desk today. it requires big boxed retailers like walmart to pay employees at least $12.50 an hour. organizers hope today's protests could be a turning point. >> we may look back at these strikes as moments when things change in america, when low wage workers finally said we want our fair share. >> that living wage bill could have backlash. walmart says it will be forced to suspend plans to build three stores in the nation's capital if the bill is passed signed by the mayor. that would have created lots of new jobs. the national restaurant association tells us this, these

jobs teach invaluable skills and a strong work ethic that are useful for workers throughout their professional careers. the facts show the majority of workers who earn the minimum wage in the united states are not employed in the restaurant industry. restaurant jobs about fast food jobs about $9 an hour but stages of their professional career very key there. with the job market so weak for many people this is their career right now. they are working in fast food at $9 for their career, average age of a fast food worker 29 years old. it's not the high school kid you're thinking of. these are kids trying to pay student loans or feed a family. the economy is just not providing a lot of opportunity for everybody, that's why there's so much focus on the jobs. >> they clearly feel their voices haven't been heard as they've been asking for this over and over again and that's why they have to protest, they have to strike. >> half the jobs created over the past three years have been part-time low wage jobs so this is where we're creating jobs and in this part of the economy these workers are not happy. >> christine, thanks so much.

we're going to take a break. when we come back, going it alone, the u.s. may have to and now that britain has voted against military intervention what does that mean for our plans on syria. the president going to congress asking for more information. what are president obama's options? what do we think is going to happen? we'll tell you in the political gut check. >> a new warning for tylenol, you take it for headaches and your aches and pains but its maker says you need to be careful, you can take too much. there are risks here. elizabeth cohen has what you need to know coming up.

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"new day" with chris cuomo, kate bolduan and michaela pereira. ♪ we built this city on rock 'n' roll ♪ "we built this city" celebrating labor this weekend. i like that. it is friday, august 30th. coming up in the show, is tylenol dangerous? its maker says there's a problem with people taking too much, so much so they're taking the step of putting new warnings on some of the bottles. we will tell you the risks and what you need to know. what do you think is the most special way that you can ask the question, will you marry me? >> a lot of news this morning so let's get right to michaela. >> all eyes on syria right now, we'll give you the latest developments in a potential military strike against syria. u.s. officials saying a unilateral response is a possibility after british lawmakers voted against military

action. however, france saying it would be open to joining some sort of coalition if it included arab league allies and wide european support. at the u.n. a closed door security council meeting ended with no agreement on a syria resoluti resolution. despite the efforts of 5,000 firefighters the rim fire continues to burn in and around yosemite national park. it is a stubborn one. flames have not approached yosemite valley. the fire has consumed nearly 200,000 acres, you 400500 homes remain at risk. 32% containment is reported for the sixth largest wildfire in california history. justice department taking an historic step back in their war on drugs telling prosecutors not to enforce federal marijuana laws in states that have legalized the use of marijuana. it gives residents of colorado and washington state the green light to possess, grow and buy marijuana for medicinal or

recreational purpose. the two states passed measures legalizing personal marijuana use. another indictment in the boston marathon bombing, prosecutors charging the friend of the surviving suspects saying the 19-year-old was involved in removing a laptop and backpack from the dorm room. coface up to eight years in federal prison on each of the two counts. too sexy for study hall? what one florida school district is saying about cheerleading uniforms, a new dress code this year says those skirts must be at least mid thigh and shirts must be sleeved so the outfit no, sir longer comply. some of the girls aren't happy saying it's tradition to wear their uniforms to class on game day. enforcement of the policy however is up to each school to decide for themselves. >> i don't get it. the uniform's okay to wear on

the field but not in the class? >> they don't want them to be worn, exactly, they want the skirts to come to a certain length and sleeves. >> i'm all for it. as the father of daughters i want them in burlap sacks but if it's okay on the field, i don't get the implication. >> it distracts from the educational process. >> they think it's a distraction in the classroom. >> yet they're designed to distract the players. i went to a high school where it was all boys no cheerleaders, very distracting. let's turn to our political gut check all the stories you need to know coming out of washington. the administration is trying to make its case for military intervention in syria, likely to release unclassified intelligence today. will they convince not only congress but the american people? we've got cnn's chief political analyst gloria borger here with all of the details for us this morning. this is not only, it's important on so many fronts for the

administration, foreign policy, strategy and politically here at home. after the conference call last night with members of congress, there seem to have been a bit of a mixed reaction, the administration's goal was obviously to make the case, right, gloria? what do you make of the reaction from lawmakers? >> what the administration is trying to do is get a buy-in, right? members are scattered all over the country, all around the world, they are not backing congress, screaming for consultation as members of congress very often do including the president himself, when he was a member of congress. remember that, kate? so what they were trying to do was hold this huge conference call and as you know, because it's a conference call, it's not a secure line. you can't tell everybody everything but they wanted to share in a declassified way what they could about their level of certainty about the chain of custody of these chemical weapons and they did make the case that the intelligence came from a high ranking syrian official, and i think that in terms of the intelligence

they've got, that's not much of a question really as it was with the iraq war, if you recall. the question really now is what is the goal of their military action and can they achieve it in a limited, targeted way, because there's a big hangover in this country from a couple of wars in iraq and afghanistan and members of congress are very, very reluctant to get involved in something that could lead us down the road to some kind of prolonged military action, and so that's what they were hearing on the phone line last night. >> and that's part of the reaction that you got especially from some republicans coming off of the call. yes, as you well point out, this he are not going to get all of the intelligence available because they were not on a secure line. >> sure. >> but some of the criticism coming out was that the administration did not lay out a clear strategy, how they were going to actually execute what the administration calls a discrete and limited response. so what -- if it clearly is more

of a case to be made what does the president need to do now? >> look, i think the president needs to go to the american public. i think before we start lobbing some cruise missiles even if it's surgical strike as they call it, limited strike, there's always a law of unintended consequences here, that there can be a response from assad or from others and i think the president needs to go to the american public and by the way i presume he will in the not too distant future. he needs to go to the public saying this is a red line blurred and this is why we cannot cross it and it is important not only in syria but it is important because we need to let iran know that they can't get a cluk clear weapon without paying some costs for it. the president needs to explain to the american public why this is important not only on a humanitarian level because using chemical weapons is, after all, a war crime, but also on a

geopolitical level and why this is important to our safety in this country and why he feels he needs to act in a limited way and by the way, what that would do to deter assad and others, because that's the big question there. >> don't you think that explanation, laying that out is even more important now in light of the uk's vote against supporting military action. that was a setback for the administration. >> i think it was certainly a setback for david cameron and the administration and it hasn't stopped the united states from looking for other allies to partner with, perhaps france, germany, whatever, but i do think it puts more of a burden on president obama. >> the folks in the u.s. have become more war weary, when they were told it was a limited engagement across the pond as well. great to see you, gloria.

gloria bormger will be hosting "state of the union" sunday where they'll have much more on the administration's case for military action in syria. >> i bet you on sunday they discuss the issue of whether or not this situation is going to qualify as a declaration of war. the reason i say that is that the constitution sets forth the congress has to give the president authorization. that's been ignored since world war i. 1973 they passed the war powers act which allows the president to do something, congressional approval within 60 days. >> you hear lawmakers are shouting for a need to consult but they have a reason they say that. they should be consulted. >> not consulted, they should be consulted and then come back and do their damned job which is vote on this because the idea, and we're going to hear from retired general anthony zinni and the idea that you're going to do something surgical one and done and get out and it's okay

and no more chemical weapons and we're safe unlikely. you'll hear that from experts so if it's unlikely maybe we do need a vote. maybe what we saw with the uk is the right way for this procedure to go. we'll take a break on "new day" and when we come back a new warning about a drug you probably have in your medicine cabinet. how risky is tylenol? should you be worried. the can. is saying maybe. plus two adorable baby pandas. have you ever not met an adorable baby panda? at the atlanta zoo we're getting an up close and personal visit to where they live, and of course we are just a few weeks away from september 16th when "crossfire" will return. here's a look back at one of the show's most memorable moments. >> one of the issues "crossfire" has always covered and will cover in the future is national security, and there there is some big life and death questions. here is a good example, former

secretary of defense robert mcnamara and dan quayle debating american strength and what we need to do to be safe in the last days of the soviet union. >> we always get in this thing of debunking the capability of the military of the soviet union. let me tell you something, they are proud of their military, invested a lot of money and you know what? it works. >> mr. mcnamara -- >> may i just interrupt one second? we shouldn't debunk the u.s. military. there isn't one single u.s. military commander who believes the abm system around moscow is anything more than a pile of junk. there isn't one of them. >> why, mr. secretary, do you think they put $200 billion in charge particle weapons and laser weapons and testing space weapon, all of the things in the soviet union. >> they put in an air defense that isn't worth a damn and our bombers can penetrate it. ♪

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to moscow a gay activist says police targeted him for a raid. phil black has more. >> police searched the home of one of the most prominent gay rights activists because of comments he made online to criticize politicians responsible for the country's abtie gay propaganda law and the politicians demanded a criminal investigation saying he had broken the law by insulting government officials. the police searched every room in his home. he is one of the leading figures in the fight to overturn the recent law which makes it illegal to tell children gay and straight relationships are equal. >> phil thank you so much for that. to north korea where an american held for months there may be getting more help in his family's quest to set him free. paula hancocks has more. >> reporter: a u.n. envoy is

expected to head to north korea friday but also said kenneth bay was sentenced back in april to 15 years hard labor for hostile issues against the government. he is hoping he will be released on humanitarian grounds as is he in ill health. wedding photos have taken a bit of an odd turn in hong kong. colleen chu is there. >> wedding ares often expensive and near hong kong couples are willing to spend a lot on pre-wedding photos. this is big business. couples can go on photo shoots for several days with a makeup artist, a stylist and graphic dpe signer. the photos can be funny, serious or underwater. kim li and daniel chen got to dig into their favorite local treats and this couple were reunited with their dead cat. according to e-commerce website

esdlife the average hong kong couple spends $2,37 u.n. on pre-wedding photos, two times the amount they're willing to spend on a photographer for the real day. kate? back to you. >> wow. i could see that. we should do a photo shoot on a cat. >> yes. yes we should, kate. >> good answer, chris. >> but not today. listen up, if you use tylenol, the makers of the popular drug are taking an unusual step, adding new warning labels to extra strength bottles. why? one reason could be johnson & johnson is facing a slew of personal injury lawsuits blaming their product for liver failure. let's bring in senior medical correspondent elizabeth cohen with more. good morning. here is the question. what is the new cap going to say? >> good morning, chris. let's take a look at that cap, what it's going to tell you is that you are taking acetaminophen, and the reason why this is important is there's been a big squabble in the country with aseat minute

overdose, not following the directions, taking too much, responsible for 56,000 emergency room visits per year, that is a staggering number, and 500 deaths. what they're do something letting you know right when you're taking that medicine this is acetaminophen, read the label to learn about warnings. >> all right, now, the warning on the cap about acetaminophen. what do we know about the problem how the overdoses happen. >> some think the directions say to take one i'll take two or three or four or five, so many people blatantly not following the directions but other times people don't realize what they're doing and that's because there's a whole bunch of products that have acetaminophen in it and would you never know it. so let me paint a picture. you have surgery, your doctor per stripes per coset t has acetaminophen, it doesn't do it for so you you take tylenol to help your surgical pain feel better, at night you're

uncomfortable so you take my quill to help you seat. you have taken ale dose of aseat minute fen. if do you that for seven days you could possibly go into liver failure. that's all that it takes, so that's what we're talking about for many cases, people don't realize how much acetaminophen they're taking. >> you know better than i do, do, coming up next, concussions and football, research showing hits to the head are very

dangerous. now there's a very big settlement to tell you about, we're going to talk to clinton portis, one of the former players who brought a lawsuit against the nfl about that. we are hopeless romantics here at "new day." how about a guy who had to get a little help to ask a big question, the soldier finds a unique way to propose to his girlfriend. it is friday's must see moment today. max and penny kept our bookstore exciting and would always come to my rescue. but as time passed, i started to notice max just wasn't himself. and i knew he'd feel better if he lost a little weight. so i switched to purina cat chow healthy weight formula. i just fed the recommended amount... and they both loved the taste. after a few months max's "special powers" returned... and i got my hero back. purina cat chow healthy weight. does your mouth often feel dry? a dry mouth can be a side effect of many medications

but it can also lead to tooth decay and bad breath. that's why there's biotene. available as an oral rinse, toothpaste, spray or gel, biotene can provide soothing relief, and it helps keep your mouth healthy, too. remember, while your medication is doing you good, a dry mouth isn't. biotene -- for people who suffer from dry mouth. a dry mouth isn't. nascar is about excitement. but tracking all the action and hearing everything from our marketing partners, the media and millions of fans on social media can be a challenge. that's why we partnered with hp to build the new nascar fan and media engagement center. hp's technology helps us turn millions of tweets, posts and stories into real-time business insights that help nascar win with our fans.

>> the question is whether or not they feel congress should authorize it before it happens because otherwise they'll criticize the government.

♪ is it the look in your eyes ah, that look in your eyes. welcome back to "new day." today's must see moment we appreciate the sacrifices our men and women in uniform have made for our nation. this video is from jacksonville, florida, soldier specialist greeting his wife, his friends found her first with these words. watch what's happening here. >> oh my goodness. >> they get off the plane and boom he drops to a knee. of course she said yes! because look at this, this is amazing. both of their families were there, they knew it was going to happen, so they could be there to take pictures and video it. they actually helped keep it a secret for now. she said yes. she was very surprised, a touching tribute to a fantastic couple who made quite a sacrifice, 11 months apart. >> you should be concerned the girl is not going to have a heart attack, not only has she been waiting for to you get back for 11 months.

>> it's a double one, a very good point. >> she woke up going wait a second, is this a dream? >> congratulations. >> that is so exciting. >> a reflection of how tight the guys are. >> yeah. >> they're there for each other. good stuff. we'll take a break. when we come back the envelope and concussions. >> the league making a deal with former players. does it settle the issue once and for all of what playing football does to the brain? we'll talk to a former nfl running back who was part of this lawsuit. and of course, syria, is the u.s. any closer to taking action? it seems like it is. it seems like it is. what may happen next, what should happen, what is the best move? we'll go through it with experts so you have the best information. [ male announcer ] when you have sinus pressure and pain, you feel...squeezed. congested. beat down. crushed. as if the weight of the world is resting on your face. but sudafed gives you maximum strength sinus pressure and pain relief. so you feel free.

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got good news, football is here, college football started the season last night to the joy of fans around the country. andy scholes is here with "the bleacher report. "how did it start off? >> big game last night, heisman candidate dadeveon clowney. the gamecocks wasted no time. quarterback connor shaw is going to find shaq roland for the 65-yard touchdown less than two minutes into the game. the gamecocks win the border war 27-10. in other action sec foes ol'

miss and vanderbilt. the rebels, jeff scott check out this run, 75 yards for a touchdown. ol' miss wins the shoot-out 39-35. bleacherreport.com nfl experts make their 2013 super bowl picks. will the patriots make it to the big game? will tim tebow still be on their rost roster? he threw for two touchdowns for the pats' final preseason game. we'll find out if tebow makes the team saturday. how did the chargers get ready for last night's game against the 49ers, they held a walk-through on wednesday on the nuclear powered aircraft carrier the "uss ronald reagan." even some lucky sailors got to show off their skills during the practice. san diego teams have a huge military following with the bases all around the area so it was great to see the chargers show some of our heroes some love. >> not only is it friday, but you brought us highlights of

college football. i can't wait. this is the best friday ever. thank you for making my day. >> a whole slate of games tomorrow, you can sit on your couch all day. >> i will be much less informed come monday because i will only be watching football. >> multitask. you hear the music, it's friday's version of the rock block, a quick run of the stories we'll be talking about today. >> first up "the washington post" researchers finding something many of us already know, being poor isn't about being less capable. poverty is such a mental burden that it opens the door to bad decision-making which can perpetuate the poor struggles. "the seattle times" could our love affair with the automobile, the number of miles traveled has declined steadily since 2007, after rising for decades. and in "the new york daily news" beyonce and the cyclone, the singer rode the roller coaster for a video music shoot and fans ate it up. time for business news and

christine romans. >> stock futures are higher after two up days for the dow, stronger economic news and hopes a serious strike might be delayed. that helped investor confidence, the major markets closing higher. apple's newest iphone open september 10th. cnn money finds in five of the past six years apple stock is lower a month after the new iphone was released. krispy kreme not tasting so sweet to investors, reporting disappointing earnings late thursday. the stock slid 12% in afterhours trading. we will make it to september 1st without a hurricane but look now in the atlantic, things are starting to become active. one thing i want you to pay attention off the coast of africa in five days, 60% chance this will develop, conditions are favorable behind it. something we'll be monitoring. otherwise let's talk about labor day weekend, things cooling off in the midwest, you're welcome, one place people will see temperatures go down 15 to 20

degrees from what we've seen all week long. here is the forecast for rain over the next few days, mid-atlantic, northeast, down to the southeast, chances for showers through labor day on monday. giving you a shot of some of the best places to go, south and west but i heard something good are you want to stay indoors and watch football, this is your weekend. >> any excuse, thank you, indra. we're now at the top of the hour, everyone, which means it's time for the top news. >> what we're concerned about is the willingness the assad regime has demonstrated to use chemical weapons on a large scale. >> making the case, president obama lobbies congress to attack syria as he loses a key ally abroad. the uk bowing out of any attacks. blockbuster settlement, the nfl paying hundreds of millions of dollars to former players over head injuries but some say it's not enough. cuteness times two, we'll take you inside the panda

nursery where nurses cared for the rare newborn twins. brace yourself for an overload of adorable. >> your "new day" continues right now. >> announcer: what you need to know -- >> it's a good day for thousands of football players who are dealing with different afflictions from playing the game of football. >> announcer: what you just have to see. >> this is comfy, yep. oh, if it's possible to get c e cuter they get every time i see them. >> announcer: this is "new day" with chris cuomo, kate bolduan and michaela pereira. >> good morning, t to the gif, it is "new day," friday, august 30th, 7:00 in the east, coming up this hour, selling a possible military strike on syria may have just gotten tougher for president obama. he briefed congress last night, many still have questions, but now the uk is pulling support so that means the u.s. may be forced to go alone if it does

anything. we're going to talk with retired marine general anthony zinni about what the military strategy has sized up. millions of americans hitting the road this labor day weekend, it's the last big getaway of the summer but gas prices are set to spike so what will it cost to you fill up your tank and get on the road? and baby pandas. we're actually showing you a live look inside their nursery, looks like mama is chillin'. >> she's looking at us? >> you looking at me? never seen a panda before? apparently the twins are the pride of the zoo atlanta. we'll give you an up close look and introduce you to the cuties. >> the cuteness it is. first the big story this morning, begin with syria, the administration laying out its case to congress despite skepticism from some an capitol hill about taking action alone after they voted against a joint military strike. the white house has evidence that shows assad used chemical weapons in the deadly attack on

its own citizens and the evidence could be made public as early as today. we're following the latest developments as only cnn can beginning with dana bash on capitol hill. what's been the reaction to that conference call last night? >> well congress is still on summer break, kate, they are spread out all across the country but demanding consultation and input into the administration's strategy on syria, so last night, obama officials began to give them at least some answers. cnn has told top obama officials insisted to lawmakers on the thursday night conference call they have no doubt bashar assad it's regime in syria was behind deadly chemical attacks there. secretaries of state, defense and others back that up by revealing to lawmakers that the u.s. intercepted communications from a high level syrian official, which clearly indicates they were responsible for these weapons, that

according to congressman elliott engel who participated in the call. though obama insists no decisions have been made, cnn is also told they privately made clear to lawmakers that chemical weapons in syria is such a threat, the u.s. could engage with or without support from critical allies like great britain. one key gop senator, bob corker, emerged from briefings thursday announcing support for what he called surgical proportional military strikes, given the strong evidence of the assad regime's continued use of chemical warfare. bob menendez reaffirmed his support saying a decisive and consequential u.s. response is justified and warranted." others argued the president still has to come before congress and the american people before he acts. >> it's up to the president to sell this to the american people. >> reporter: last night's attempt to consult with congress left some highly unsatisfied,

several republicans ended the call and said that they still feel the administration is not giving enough information about their plans for potential military action. never mind goals for potential military action. chris, there could be several reasons for that, one of which is congress is not here, they were all in their districts and states, some of them on cell phones so what they were told was unclassified because they were not on a secure line. >> i wonder if it means enough to them, dana, to come back and take the situation more seriously. good segue to what happened in the uk. in the uk, the parliament was asked to vote on military action and they voted no, that means the u.s. could be forced to go it alone in any military action. atika shubert has more from london. good morning. >> reporter: good morning, chris. it is a serious setback for the united states, basically lawmakers have said there is not enough evidence to justify a military strike at this point, and there is also no guarantee as to what would happen if britain was involved in such a military strike, so what that

means is that prime minister david cameron has not been able to deliver british military help, no air force help, no warships and that means the united states now has to look to other allies, possibly france, for example, french president francois hollande says france is ready and they will make their own decisions inpend of what britain decided and they will have their own parliament debate on wednesday on syria, although president hollande has also said to the lamonde newspaper there could be a strike as soon as wednesday. >> we'll follow your development. syria leaders say the army is ready to confront any aggression from the outside. frederik pleitgen was the only network were rohher in the country this week. what are you hearing from your angle? >> it's an interesting day on the ground in damascus, the last day the u.n. weapons inspectors

will be able to collect evidence and they're spending the day in the government controlled section. they visited a military hospital known as the 601 hospital and there they spoke to syrian soldiers who said they were subject to chemical attacks by the rebels. the government of course is saying that it has evidence that the rebels used chemical gases. the syrian defense minister said this on a phone call with the defense minister of iran. the syrian government also reiterating saying if it's attacked by the u.s. it would "retaliate" with any means it has. it's unclear however how it intends to do that. i got a gauge of the mood on the ground in damascus earlier this morning and people are saying they are nervous about these american air strikes that are looming, a lot of people are stocking up on food. however, there doesn't seem to be that big wave of people trying to leave the syrian capital anymore. there is a lot of military movement on the ground potentially to get out of the

range of u.s. air strikes. chris? >> thank you, fred, appreciate the reporting. if the u.s. goes it alone in syria can we make enough of a difference for the action to be worth it. by the way what is the end game if we go in? we need answers to these questions and straight talk. we're going to get it right now by retired general anthony zinni, former commander in chief of the u.s. central command or centcom as we know it. general thank you for joining thus morning. >> sure, chris. >> the obvious question is should the u.s. do what we're hearing about, take military reaction to what happened in syria? what's your gut on it in. >> well, i think the president has drawn a red line, and he can't back off of this now. he's tried to make a very fine point that may be lost on others that the issue of using chemical weapons should be separated from the conflict in syria. that's tough to do certainly, but it's a matter of violating an international norm.

i think what we fail to do here is gain international support for that principle ahead of time and now we're scrambling, while our ships are in place to gain that support and that may have been lost on the brits as well. i think if they want to play a big role on the international stage and they want to be seen as enforcing these international norms that they need to see that and separate it from what's happening on the ground. that's difficult to do admittedly and that point has not really i think gelled with either the american people or most of the international community. >> it's really not a question of whether or not the u.s. can do this, it's a question of whether it should. what do you think of the idea of going it alone and thinking you can do a limited surgical strike and be done? >> well i think if the issue is chemical weapons and their use and you're trying to deter that, it's a question of whether you can do enough harm, damage that

would make assad back off from the use, and that is questionable. we saw with saddam hussein that no matter how many times we hammered him, he still repeatedly conducted and did unacceptable acts. i would say that if you're involved in a campaign like this, much like we did in iraq, you can't assume this will be a one and done, so what you need to do is plan a series of targeting, should he repeat this, that make him more vulnerable. for example, taking down his integrated air defense system, destroying much of his command and control, that has a tremendous impact. now, you have to be careful, because you could get to a tipping point where that makes him so vulnerable that the opposition is able to topple him, maybe before we are ready for that or even syria is ready for that, because i do think there will be a second civil war after assad is gone. >> obviously the political consideration is that, within the rebels, there is the al qaeda element, so the political

question is, do you want them to wind up benefiting from this. tell me, general, in your experience, have you ever heard of a situation where we go in, the united states, they punish but they don't topple? isn't that somewhat of a kind of mixed end game? >> no, not really. remember the first bush administration set a policy followed by the clinton administration of containment, and so in dealing with iraq at the time, the idea was we did not want to inherit iraq and we did not want to go in there. we weren't going to topple the regime but we were going to weaken it to the point where it wasn't a threat to his neighbors and minimize the damage that saddam could do to his own people. the no fly zones in the north protected the kurds, no fly zones in the south were intended to protect the shia. >> we wound up in a terrible war, general, that we both know very well. >> that was a war of choice. saddam was no threat to his

neighbors. he was minimally threatening his own people, that was elective surgery. we did not need to go into iraq. we should have focused on business against al qaeda and afghanistan, because we didn't do that they were allowed to escape and we went into two sets of nation buildings that cost us a tremendous amount in the end. >> do you believe that we'll wind up having the same conversation here if we go ahead with military action in syria, that it shouldn't have been done, look how long we've been in, look how unlimited and nonsurgical it wound up being? >> there has to be a more strategic question here. i think one of the legacy issues out of iraq are going in, deciding to go in there as opposed to what two previous administrations had decided. we have now become, we have started the tenth crusade, i guess, and the expectation of those in the streets in the middle east is that if they rise up, america will come to their aid and we will take dare care

business. the trouble is the cost of all this, the engagement, the involvement has been painful, costly, and we aren't necessarily going to resolve that. i would make one another point, this isn't just a matter of the world and the opposition against the assad regime. when you get involved, this is what we should have learned from iraq, you take a position and you take a side and you take a side in a religious war, an ethnic war, a tribal war, and if we haven't learned from somalia and beirut that once you take a side, even though you didn't intend to, you've made enemies that you didn't intend. >> general, understanding what you do about what's on the table, forget about military capability, whether or not the u.s. can do it, do you believe that this looks like a good situation that we're heading into, if there's military action? do you think you could recommend what you believe to be on the table right now? >> i think this is a matter of

choice of the best of a lot of bad options. we are now in a position where the president has drawn a red line of what is unacceptable, and we have to do something now or we will be discredited and we will open the door to assad and others to have free reign and do whatever they want to include the continued use of chemical weapons. >> general zinni, thank you very much for the perspective. i wish you the best for the labor day weekend. >> thank you, chris. >> absolutely. back here at home, more americans are doing some driving, more driving this holiday weekend than years past. according to aaa, 34 million americans will travel more than 50 miles from home, a 4% increase over 2012. we've got indra petersons here with your labor day forecast as well as christine romans tracking gas prices, which could see a bit of a spike. let's begin with indra, what is the forecast looking like for the weekend? >> once again we're dealing with a lot of the heat in the midwest. look at the temperatures still 15, even 20 degrees above

normal, des moines possibly breaking a record. the forecast is 100. the record is 99 so likely they will break that. there is good news, though, we'll see relief, a cold front will push through between saturday and sunday, so we still have a little ways to go but eventually temperature also moderate and go back to 70s and 80s. it's been feeling about 100 for a week long. cold front moving through means rain. you have the warmer air up against the colder air so you'll start triggering showers. couple of systems are in the forecast. notice by friday we'll be looking at the ohio valley, saturday in through sunday we'll be looking at the northeast, the mid-atlantic talking about rain and notice the two systems once we get into sunday and monday those two maernlg together, talking about showers from the northeast, midwest, and down even into the southeast. >> thanks so much, indra. we know the weather now. what about the traveling? the cost of gas is set to spike as this long holiday weekend comes. we bring christine back in with more. we hear that gas is going up, we

don't like that, hopefully not coordinated with the holiday weekend. >> no, it will be after the holiday weekend. a gallon of regular up two cents according to aaa but last year they were 20 cents higher than they were right now, that's why more people are expected to travel because gas prices are a little bit better. that's right now. i say fill it up, don't wait for lower gas prices tomorrow, you won't get them. strike on syria could boost gas prices in the short term. oil at a two-year high because of tensions in the middle east and potential u.s. strike on syria would boost oil and gasoline prices. you've also got this fall hurricane season very, very important there, if you get a big hurricane or refinery shutdowns you will see a spike in gas ahead so a lot of factors here that are risks down the road, a little bit of a break now for gas but you're going to pay more next week. chris? >> christine thank you for that. let's get to other news developing right now. michaela has that. >> we're watching the situation in california the fire burning there. we have encouraging news about

the rim fire burning in and around yosemite national park. firefighters say it has slowed down and they have it one-third contained. they expect to have full containment within two or three weeks. the fire has burned an area roughly the size of new york city over the last couple of weeks, still unclear how it started though. convicted pedophile jerry sandusky criticizing penn state's settlements with his victims, sandusky the former defensive coordinator for the penn state football team. in a letter from prison, sandusky tells filmmaker john zeigler that the university was simply protecting its image without questioning the allegations against him. he calls the settlements insane. three florida teens sentenced to indefinite probation after admitting they brutally beat a classmate on a bus, it was caught on the surveillance video. the trio all 15 years old beat and kicked a 13-year-old boy leaving him bruised and with a broken hand. the victim reportedly became a target after telling school officials some of his summer school classmates tried to sell

him marijuana. we're going to hear from one of the defendant's guardians later in our program. the federal government will not challenge state law legalizing marijuana, that according to attorney general eric holder who notified colorado and washington state that their new laws are safe for now. the justice department says it will focus on trafficking and keeping pot away from kids but it reserves the right to target the laws if they find evidence of abuse. first lady michelle obama is switching it up a little saying bye to the dramatic bangs and hello subtle highlights. there is obama calling the bangs her mid life crisis. nine months later the caramel colored highlights are a subtle change and she looks fabulous as always. of course we'll now be seeing many women replicating the look. she is a fashion leader. >> okay, what are you going to bring on monday? >> i'm going to leave it a surprise. no bongz wi no bangs with this, doesn't work. >> beautiful hair.

>> i pay them handsomely. >> i tell michaela when she gets haircuts, save it for me. >> we'd be pretty much a match. >> i'll take whatever it is, i'll take it. coming up on "new day" a big settlement, three-quarters of a billion dollars what some former pro-football players are getting. accusations the league covered up the dangers of hard hits. now the nfl is promising more research. is that enough? you're going to hear from one of the former nfl greats who sued the league. and also controversy continues in montana where there are more calls now for a judge to step down after the judge sme sentenced a man who admitted raping a student to 30 days in jail. it's what the judge said about the victim that really has protesters upset. [ female announcer ] are you sensitive to dairy?

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welcome back to "new day." the nfl agreeing to pay $ 65 million to thousands of nfl players and their families, all dealing with the aftermath of traumatic brain injuries. "the bleacher report's" andy scholes is here to break this down. good morning, andy. >> good morning, kate. this case could have dragged out for years but by settling this for years this dark cloud hanging over the nfl is going to go away and the players who have concussion related injuries will get the help they need. >> nice play and a drive. >> reporter: for years the nfl and its players have been at odds how to address injuries that occurred on the field. thursday they reached a landmark agreement that will end the fighting and put money towards exams, injury compensation, legal fees and medical research. $75 million for medical exams,

$675 million in compensation for cognitive injuries, $10 million for research plus legal fees and other expenses related to the lawsuit. >> i think it's a good day for thousands of football players who are dealing with different afflictions from playing the game of football. >> hall of famer tony dorsett, super bowl winning quarterback jim mcmahon and the family of junior seau, who committed suicide last year are a major part of the case, it cleared the nfl from admitting any liability or brain related injuries were caused by football. many consider that a huge win for the envelope and its owners. >> they're almost certainly going to be able to eliminate any future lawsuit from former players about head injuries. >> reporter: while $765 million seems like a big number some think the players could have done better considering last year alone the nfl had a revenue of $9.2 billion.

>> you consider the potential risk the nfl had of going to trial, the potential exposure was in the billions and that's a conservative estimate. >> the agreement is in the hands of judge anita brody who must approve the deal. former players can still voice their opposition. only players who have retired by the time the concussion settlement is approved, but all retired players involved in the lawsuit or not can take a baseline test, and those test results that will be used to determine the amount of money they will receive from this settlement now and in the future. chris? >> thanks a lot, andy. joining us is one of the plaintiffs in the case, former nfl running back and one of the best running backs of all-time, pro bowler clinton portis. thank you for joining us. great pleasure to have you on "new day." >> no problem, thanks for having me. >> so it's a big number, but let me ask you, do you believe that the league got off easy? do you think this will push them to do the right thing?

>> i don't think it was about the numbers or money going out. i think the league was making the stride to further the study of this case, and that's what's wanted. i think a lot of people love to get the money rewards from this, but it's a give and take situation because you can't blame everything on the nfl. >> people are very concerned. we want our athletes to be healthy, want our kids to be okay to play the game, but are we fooling ourselves about the nature of football? do you think you can change the game in a way that head injury also no longer be an issue? >> yeah, we are fooling ourselves. i think football is just a dangerous game. we know signing up for everyone wants their kids to succeed, it's like the highest level of competition but i don't think you could take the injuries way from the game. i really don't think no matter what the nfl do as far as the play on the field, as you see

lately, the concussion has been heightened, so much attention paid to it now that what's the safety? i think when you used to get blasted coming across the middle and guys used to be all jacked up, i think it was safer than it is now because we're not prepared mentally. >> explain that to me. why do you think that even though it was more fierce it was in a way safer back in the older days before all of the rule changes? >> well i think if you knew you were going into a war zone, you kind of prepare for war. you know? you don't go into the bathed field and not have a strategy or not be prepared for battle and now when you step on the battlefield, the preparation is totally different. you feel there's so many things that can't be done, i can't get hit by a safety flying n the linebacker can't smash me coming across the middle of the field and so many things that can't be done that the guys who used to

not make the team because they say this guy is not tough enough to run across the middle of the field or this guy can't take a hit, you know they're making the game easier and saying well you can't be hit so i think that's making a lot of guys brave. >> clinton, for those who don't know, you were just a beast on the field. i mean you could take hits like few running backs ever could, you had that scary shield over your eyes so he could never see where you were looking but you know what it's like to get concussions, and over time what do you think it does to a player? >> i'm not sure. you know, i think in my day, the idea was a statement, you know, shake it off. i can recall games where now what would be considered a concussion, i had, and all of a sudden you shake it off for a series or two, come back madder and run harder. i can go all the way back to the sugar bowl in glooinchtsd and

right before halftime and i came out, i had 98 yards after shaking it off and had some pretty nice runs so you don't know. all of a sudden we're not paying attention to what's going to happen down the line so it's going to take guys from my generation, some of the older guys who always made a stance for it to do the study. >> you think that the players on the field now know it's a rough game but don't know what it happen down the line and it's the league's place to put protections in place so they save them for the future? >> i think the players on the field at all times know it's a rough game. i don't think it takes today's society to come uhm and say football is physical or football is rough. i think it's always been a rough game for everybody, so like i said the nfl tried to do everything it can to protect this shield, to protect the players but it's football. injuries are going to happen,

stuff happens. i think in this case where you look and say there's been a reward given out to players who already went through it, i can't assess the rewards. you don't know the study like you all were speaking of, some players or some families' lost loved ones when you look at junior seau, dave dorsett, the receiver up in minnesota, the kid in tampa, you never know what guy is going through or what ignites what is going on, so you just have to wonder, like if this is into an early age, would the family still have had the loved one? >> it's interesting how many former players don't let their own kids play versus those who do. thank you for joining us. i wish you the best being forward. you look like you could hit the field right now. >> yeah, but the heart's not in it, so it would be great, you know, i think i had a great time playing and enjoying and loving the game, like you said, to give it all on your field, on the

field was a pleasure to me. so thank you. >> god bless. good luck going forward. thanks for joining us. >> all right, appreciate it. >> kate? >> thanks, chris. come up next on "new day," more anger in montana over a judge's sentence for a teacher convicted of rape and what he said, the judge said about the victim. protesters taking to the streets, they want the judge gone and the sentence changed. also you're looking live inside the panda habitat at the atlanta zoo. get ready for some extreme cuteness. newborn pandas times two. we'll see how they're doing. #%tia[

>> announcer: you're watching "new day" with chris cuomo, kate bolduan and michaela pereira. ♪ good morning, welcome back to "new day" everyone. coming up in the show a vicious beating caught on a school bus video camera, three teenagers who admitted to the attack find out their punishment. now in an interview you'll only see on cnn we're hearing from one of their legal guardians, what does he think the punishment and what the teens did. we'll tell you. plus here's a live look at the atlanta zoo, a panda wandering around this morning. here is the question, what is cuter than one panda? michaela, the answer? >> two. >> two panda baby, we're getting a close look at the new babies, how they're doing. they're the only surviving panda twins in the u.s. one story we're looking at but a lot of news this morning so let's get right to michaela. mick? all eyes on the latest developments in a potential military strike against syria. the u.s. may be weighing a unilateral response now that british lawmakers decided

against taking military action. the big question remaining if the u.s. does decide to act, when will it happen? pentagon correspondent barbara starr following that angle for us. barbara, what is the latest? >> good morning, michaela, the u.s. military says it is ready to go, simply awaiting orders from president obama to strike syria if those orders are to come. we expect later today now that the administration will make public at least part of its intelligence assessment backing up its view that the syrian regime was behind this chemical attack that killed so many people there last week. one of the key questions on the table was bashar al assad's finger on the button? did he order the attack personally? that's one of the big pieces of information, but the administration is saying it doesn't matter really whether he did or not. they have intercepts, they have information that they say is solid that the syrian regime was behind the attack. michaela? >> more details to come, barbara starr thank you. the pennsylvania police

chief who got suspended after firing off his guns and his mouth in a youtube rant, he'll be on hand for a special council meeting tonight, the gilbertton burough council suspended chief mark kesler for 30 days, a suspension that is about to end. he expects to be fired, but is he not backing down. this week he released a new video aiming at targets with the same first names as the burough council president and vice president. more details emerging about the raid that killed osama bin laden, "the washington post" says forensic intelligence agents confirmed his identity eight hours after he was killed by using dna from his corpse. it also says the u.s. lacks intelligence on pakistan, north korea, and russia. "the post" report is based on information from nsa leaker edward snowden. beginning in october, new warning in bright red lettering will appear on bottles of extra strength tylenol alerting users to the dangers of taking too much tylenol. johnson & johnson hoping to

reduce the number of accidental acetaminophen overdoses. the pain relieving ingredient is the leading cause of sudden liver failure. here is something special when it comes to memorable weddings it would be hard to top this one, vancouver, canada, the couple celebrated wednesday going out an water skis for the first kiss. the bride took a tumbling into the bay on her first attempt, $1,600 worth of wedding dress and all. the second time around they completed their wedding ceremony on water skis with the north shore mountains of vancouver in the back drop. i think it's fantastic and who minds a little water stain on the wedding dress. >> not after that. >> that looks really good. >> a canada story. >> are you sensing a theme? we try to get in one a week from micah ny canadian viewers. >> canada jokes.

>> they're very good. let's get to montana, a story we've been following closely, hundreds of people protesting a montana jublg's decision to sentence a confessed rapist to 30 days in prison. protesters want the judge off the bench and the rapist put away for years. as cnn's miguel marquez shows us the cries for justice are growing louder. >> we are here today to say that our community will not stand for victim blaming language any more. >> reporter: protests of anger in montana spreading, rallies planned across the state over judge g. todd baugh's comments and light sentence for a rapest incensed montana and the nation. >> this is about month monana ar nation and rape victims all over the world and the world is watching us. >> reporter: sheena rice, an organizer, revealed this week she, too, was a victim of sexual

assault. her fear of embarrassment outweighed by her anger after judge baugh sentenced former high school teacher to 30 days in jail after he broke the terms of his parole for the 2008 rape of then 14-year-old charice morales. >> we're creating a pretty big movement in billings about victim blaming and rape sentencing which is exciting. >> are in handing down his sentence the judge said the 14-year-old morales was in as much control as her then 49 years old rapist and that she acted older that be other chronological a.j. morales took her life shortly before trial in 2010. baugh has apologized for his words but the sentence stands. kate olp started the moveon.org competition urging judge baugh to step down. it has tens of thousands of signatures. >> he is a person who fails so deeply to understand the

experience of victims, we feel he ought to step down from his position as district court judge. >> reporter: miguel marquez, cnn, los angeles. let's take a break. when we come back a "new day" exclusive, three teens get their sentence for this, remember the bus beatdown? probation. sound fair to you? we'll hear from one of their guardians in an interview you can only see here. we're also checking in on a pair of very cute, very young twins, little newborn panpandas. we'll go inside the nursery, right after the break. my mother made the best toffee in the world.

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♪ welcome to the jungle i know you're in a rush, getting ready for the weekend but look at your screen. we have something great to show you. >> don't look the us. >> we're pretty coot but not as cute as these guys. look at that, baby pandas times two, atlanta, one of only four

u.s. zoos to have pandas. cnn's alina macahado got a rare behind the scenes glimpse at the baby brothers. she's at the zoo in atlanta with a lot more. alina? >> reporter: hey, chris, we're inside the panda exhibit at the zoo. i'm hanging out with the cub's older brothers on this side over here, this guy over here is po and on this side i don't know if you can see him through the foggy windows, that guy over there getting some treats his him is xilan. his birthday today, he just turned 5 years old. up until this point the people can only see the twin cubs through panda cam monitor because they are behind the scenes with the mom but we got an up close look. >> this is panda b, this is cub b. if it's possible, they get cuter every time i see them. >> we suited up to go inside the

panda nursery. to see how the only set of twin pandas born in the u.s. is doing. >> they are on track with the other cubs we've had here. >> reporter: every week each cub has a thorough checkup. what are you doing? >> checking eyes, look the at their gums and no teeth yet, not to are a little while. >> reporter: each little guy is measured and weighed. doctors even listen to the heart and lungs. today we are told everything looks and sounds great. is he kind of purring? >> a little bit of a purr/grunt, yes. >> reporter: each cub weighs about four pounds. the progress is considerable. they were about as big as a stick of butter when they were born. to get to here from where they have here they are helping their woman, lun-lun care them. zoo staff swaps them out every

four hours. >> sounds exhausting. >> it's been exhausting but with this cuteness you can't begrudge any long hours at all. >> reporter: keeps you going? >> absolutely. >> reporter: the atlanta is one of four in the u.s. born with pandas. >> even though they were born here they still belong to china. having them here helps to us raise the money to conserve them in china. >> reporter: and china is where the twins will end up in a few years. until then they'll be in the care of doting doctors and staffers. >> a has a little bit thinner band over here on what we call the saddle. compared to b, oh my goodness. >> reporter: who can't get over these sweet, little faces. now back out here live, xilan looks to be hanging out with his dad, who is on the other side of that wall. it will be a while before the actual baby cubs will be out in this exhibit area and by the way, they will be named when they reach the 100 day mark, that's in line with chinese

tradition. for now they'll be known around here as panda "a" and panda "b." >> be honest, how close were you trying to get the pandas in your bag? >> reporter: i tried to snatch one and they almost tackled me as i was leaving so no, they were very cute. >> i can't just believe how they're just so tiny when you look at how big they get. how quickly do they grow? we'll see sort of them double in size over the next month or so do you think? >> less than that. >> reporter: just so you get an idea when they were first born they were about the size of my palm and they're now about this big, about four pounds so they're growing and that's normal, that's what's normal for these abmals. >> what a fun story. not many people get the opportunity to be that close to a panda and when they get older maybe you don't want to get so close so perfect timing for but >> access. >> i think it's dumb when you see the newscasters trying to twerk but i do believe it is not

done cute and we should do best panda sound. >> i can't believe you made a twerk panda reference. >> yours is better do it. i can't top it. >> it's not a competition. >> it is always a competition for you. it is kind of that. >> it's friday. it's friday. alina is like i'm already out. >> it's not a competition but i think i win. everything's a competition, don't kid enough. we'll take a break, practice your panda sounds, we'll go back at it on the other side of the break. clint eastwood and his wife calling it quits after 17 years of marriage. the question is why, after so many years, we'll tell you. and meet fergie's new fella, giving birth to an adorable little boy, all about it in the pop four.

and didn't know where to start. a contractor before at angie's list, you'll find reviews on everything from home repair to healthcare written by people just like you.

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all right. welcome back to "new day." everyone. time for the pop foour with nischelle turner. >> did you know it's college colors day. am i the only one representing? >> i am aware and i am representing. >> you were talking about college football. >> my college did not have a football team. >> nor did mine. >> mine did. chris, thanks for being with me. >> we are family. >> right here. >> let's get to our pop four this morning.

number four story, one i don't like to start with. but let's start with it. clint eastwood and his wife separated. they are still close, but separated for some time. she was a former newscaster. what is old is very new, again. "american idol" bringing back, fox expected to announce that randy jackson is officially returning to the show, not as a judge, but as a mentor. where have you been? >> didn't know what a dandelion was and didn't know randy jackson was off the show. >> entering the 13th season. >> 13th season of "idol." >> still going strong. congratulations. big congratulations to fergie and josh dumell. the couple gave birth to their

first child. his name,acle jack. >> she is a rock star. >> for somebody else's kid. >> you don't think i could have -- >> can i have an axle? >> sure you can. >> i can't talk. >> so, i'm nischelle. my mom switched it up a little bit. you know that foam finger that was featured, the man who was credited for inventing it told fox sports that she took an ic iconnick icon. she really did deflower that finger. that thing went through the ringer. happy friday, guys. >> happy friday. >> happy labor day weekend to

you. you're hard working. >> you better be the work at monday. >> the rest of us aren't. >> she's trying -- >> let's take a break so i can get my beat down. better fill up before heading out on that road trip. you may pay more on the other side. the big story we watch as we head into the weekend. britain saying no to syria. what does that mean for the u.s.? we're all over the story with the latest from washington, london and beirut. one key congressman on a call with the administration last night. but we still swim. every second, somewhere in the world, lightning strikes... but we still play in the rain. poisonous snakes can be found in 49 of the 50 states,

but we still go looking for adventure. a car can crash... a house can crumble... but we still drive... and love coming home. because i think deep down we know... all the bad things that can happen in life... they can't stop us from making our lives... good. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] ultra rugged phones from sprint.

buy one, get four free, and $150 credit when you switch your business line to sprint. the pioneers in push-to-talk. trouble hearing on the phone? visit sprintcaptel.com ...and a great deal. . your business line to sprint. grrrr ahhh let's leave the deals to hotels.com. oh my gosh this is so cool... awesome! perfect! save up to 30% plus an extra 12% off with coupon... now until labor day. only at hotels.com congestion, for the smog.

but there are a lot of people that do ride the bus. and now that the buses are running on natural gas, they don't throw out as much pollution into the air. so i feel good. i feel like i'm doing my part to help out the environment.

you hear the music. that music means it's time for the rock block. a quick round up of the stories you're talking about today. first up, michaela. >> "new york times" an estimated 100,000 chinese students some as young as 10 are spending summers in the u.s. to get admission to a top american college. the presidential yacht sold for about $8 million. that's in "usa today" jfk spent his last birthday on it and jimmy carter sold it to the government more than 30 years ago. and in "new york daily news" are you ready for some free fall. six flags great adventure unveiling a new adventure with a 31-story drop. drop of doom will debut at the new jersey theme park next spring. christine romans will be first in line. >> i prefer my roller coasters in the stock market. tensions from a possible u.s. strike on syria may keep any upside moves in check later today. higher futures following a

higher close on wall street. mostly on news the economy was stronger than we thought. nothing says labor day better than barbecues and big tvs. and this weekend will be a great time to buy one. deal news says 60 inch plasmas are at their cheapest right now. you'll pay a little more about 700 bucks. something else you can consider shopping for this weekend, a new car. big discount start in september as manufacturers release new models. if you want until november, you can save 10% to 20% on a new car model. indra petersons you have the weather. >> things generally quiet in the atlantic, but that could change. take a look off the coast of africa. one of the first systems that looks like it could likely develop. 60% chance over the next five days. we'll see that as a tropical storm. in the midwest, we see the temperatures go down finally. saturday in through sunday and the big difference and the

temperatures moderate to where they should be this time of year. other big story, this is not the good news. middle east, north atlantic, two cold fronts making its way through the area. if you don't get rain the first time, chances are second time you'll get that rain. >> thank you so much for that. we are now at the very top of the hour which means it is time for the top news. no action can be taken until we have heard from the u.n. weapons inspectors. >> the evidence. the president makes his case to congress for a strike against syria. some say it wasn't enough. now, britain says the u.s. will have to go it alone. we're covering all the angles. new warning about one of the most common pain relievers on the shelves. why the maker of tylenol is now making this big move. holiday road. tens of millions of americans hitting the road for the long weekend. the price you pay at the pump

now set to spike. how high will it go? your "new day" continues right now. what you need to know -- >> you could have killed this young man. that child was just defenseless. what you just have to see. this is "new day" with chris cuomo, kate bolduan and michaela pereira. good morning, welcome back to "new day," everyone. it is friday, august 30th and 8:00 in the east. coming up in this hour, a closer look at the big question facing the country now. will the u.s. strike syria? this as the administration will release its unclassified reports on intelligence and chemical attacks in syria. in a few minutes, we'll ask a key member of congress about the intelligence that the administration shared with him. we're also going to take a look at the bus beating that

sickened so many in florida. the bullies pleaded guilty, apologized but even members of their own families wonder if the punishment is enough. just probation. you'll hear from one of them in just minutes in an interview only here on "new day." "new day" today needs a heaping helping of baby pandas. we've got it. this is the scene right inside the panda exhibit right inside the atlanta zoo. an up-close view of two newborn pandas and head back there for much more of what is black, white and cute all over. >> okay. >> let's get first to the big story today, syria. the white house presenting its case to lawmakers following a surprise no-vote to the british government. now, a top russian official says that vote is in line with the opinion across europe. president obama, however, says the evidence is clear the assad regime was behind that deadly chemical attack on the syrian

people. we're following all the late-breaking developments on this story and there are a lot. let's start with danna bash on capitol hill. dana? >> they began to declassify and release some of that information and did it in a briefing for select members of congress who demanding input on what the administration's plans may be with syria and evidence that any u.s. force there may be justified. cnn has told top obama officials insisted to lawmakers on the thursday night conference call they have no doubt bashar al assad's regime in syria was behind deadly chemical attacks there. secretary of defense, state and others backed that up by revealing to lawmakers that the u.s. intercepted communications from a high-level syrian official, which clearly indicates they were responsible for these weapons. that according to congressman elliot angle who participated in the call. though, obama officials insisted no decisions have been made on

military action against syria, cnn is also told they privately made clear to lawmakers that chemical weapons in syria is such a threat the u.s. could engage with or without support from critical allies like great britain. one key gop senator bob korxer emerged from briefings thursday surgical proportional military strikes given the strong evidence of the regime's use of chemical warfare. senate foreign relations share bob menendez reaffirmed his support, too. a consequenceal u.s. response is justified and warranted. others argued the president still has to come before congress and the american people before he acts. >> it's up to the president to sell this to the american people. >> this attempt to consult with lawmakers left many highly unsatisfied. some republicans say they still have no idea what the united states' plans are.

at least options militarily and they're demanding more answers. chris, the thing to keep in mind is that the select members of congress on this call tend to be on the committees that make them more hawkish. if they're giving the administration trouble what both are thinking and hearing their constituents back home. >> thank you the reporting this morning. the president is set to address some of these concerns by releasing declassified intelligence on syria today. jim acosta is following developments. good morning, jim, what can you tell us? >> we can tell you senior administration officials are saying that the white house is expect today release that unclassified intelligence report on last week's chemical weapons attack in syria. that intelligence report, as dana was mentioning just a few moments ago should include some of the information that was briefed to congress last night on intelligence intercepts that the white house says indicates that top syrian leaders are responsible for that poisoned gas attack. meanwhile, with respect to

what's happening overseas, there was that disappointing vote in the british parliament yesterday. two white house officials and they are responding, essentially, by saying now, chris and kate, that the u.s. may have to take unilateral action. i talked to a senior u.s. official last night who said they care what the british think. they value the process and they're going to make a decision that they have to make. now, a window of opportunity for the president to launch strikes opens up this weekend when u.n. weapons inspectors are expected to leave syria on saturday. no timetable yet from this white house and they continue to say that the president has not yet made a decision to strike. so, we're waiting for further developments. the president will be appearing briefly, publicly here at the white house. he's meeting with foreign leaders and there may be a chance for the president to say something there. but no word yet from the white house on that. >> all right, jim, thank you for that from the white house this morning. let's talk much more on this with one of the lawmakers on the

conference call last night, congressman elliot angle of new york, a top democrat on the house foreign affairs committee and key in this debate going forward. congressman, thanks for coming in to talk about this very important issue. changing at the moment, but coming off that conference call, are you as confident of the intelligence? are you as confident that the assad regime was behind this chemical attack and also that this means the united states should go in with the military strike, as the administration appears to be? >> i'm confident we were told yesterday by both secretary kerry and secretary hagel that there is no doubt that the assad regime was responsible for this chemical attack. you can even tell by their actions. if they were not responsible, then they should have welcomed international inspectors into their country immediately. they waited five days before they allowed anybody to come in and evidence that they tampered with evidence, as well. so, if you're really innocent, you would welcome international

inspecto inspectors. we were also told yesterday that there were communications that were intercepted that leave no doubt in anyone's mind that assad's regime and syria was responsible for these horrific chemical attacks on civilian population. >> i want to ask you about those intercepted communications. first, some of your colleagues, especially republican colleagues they came off that call with a different impression. they were not so convinced. they are very critical of the administration that they were too vague on what the plan is. of course, we understand these were not secure lines. you cannot pass along classified information on this conference call, but what makes you confident? what is the end game? what would you support? >> well, the same people, my republican friends in congress that are criticizing the president now have been criticizing him for the past two months for doing nothing. they say he was doing nothing. >> do you think they were too vague, though? do members of congress and the american people deserve to have more information about what the

end game is here? >> well, to me, it's very simple. if we allow a rogue regime to gas its own people, to gas its own civilians. those pictures of children choking and dying and foaming at the moeth is something that will live with me for the rest of my life. it tells every regime and terrorist organization in the world that they can gas their own people and they'll get away with it. i think it's important to take a stand and take a strong stand to say this is a war crime and it's unacceptable and we're not going to let it pass. >> what do you make of, especially i mean the latest example is the vote in the british parliament. david cameron came out really clearly today to say that the uk will not be involved with military action. should the u.s. go it alone? >> well, we don't know if it will be alone. there will be other nations that will join us, even if the uk does not. >> but it's a huge statement when great britain says we're not going it be involved. >> it was made very clear that

the president of the united states will make a decision based on what he feels is best for the united states and what any other country does in their parliament is what they do, but it doesn't mean that they have veto power over what we do. i think that we are the leaders of the free world and we stand for something. and we ought to show that this is not something that we could let stand. >> would you support -- since we haven't heard other support from other countries yet for military action yet specifically, would you support the u.s. going it alone? >> i think if we have to, i think we will. i would much prefer, obviously, if it was an international coalition and there will be other countries that will support us. >> what do you think? >> there are countries in the middle east. i think countries like saudi arabia, like turkey who understand the threat that assad poses. i mean, you just cannot have a government committing these kind of war crimes and let them get away with a slap on the wrist. >> now you heard, obviously, as

would be expected as you're on a key committee much more than the american people know about what the administration knows. i want to ask you about what came out of that call. some of the evidence was some key communications that were intercepted from a high-level syrian official is how it's been described. how high does this go? did they tell you this went all the way to the top to bashar al assad going all the way to the top? >> there is no question he was not directly involved. nothing happens in syria without his involvement. he has to approve this. and he is aligning himself with terrorist group, he's become iran's proxy in syria. i mean, this is a dangerous guy. i think the president of the united states will make a decision and it was emphasized to us last night that no decision has yet been made by the president. no time table has yet been decided and the scope of what the president will decide has not been determined. the president will do it. i support the president. i think he's doing the right

thing. i think that we have a moral responsibility to act and say that we will not allow the gassing of children. and i think that's a very important statement for the united states of america to make. >> on the intelligence, just one real quick question. what do you know about the reports linking assad's brother, a top commander in the syrian army to this intercepted communications, to these chemical attacks? >> well, on the call last night and, again, secretary kerry and secretary hagel and susan rice and the other top people who would know. they didn't specifically say who it was, but they said it was top level in the syrian government. they intercepted some communications, which leaves no doubt in anybody's mind that the assad government was responsible for these horrific crimes. >> how we respond, when and how far we go is the key question now that we all need to be talking about. >> key question and i think, again, the president is doing the right thing. >> congressman, great to have you here. > thank you so much, congressman. chris? kate, labor day weekend is

here. let's figure out what will bring with it. aaa says 34 million americans will hit the road this weekend. that's up 4% from last year. let's figure out, first, what it will look like for all of us. indra petersons has the holiday forecast and then christine romans told us gas prices were cheaper. let's start with indra. >> one thing we need are the temperatures to come down in the midwest and the good news it will eventually get there. possible record breaking heat in des moines looking for temperatures right at the century mark. that is good, 15 to 20 degrees above normal across the area. cold front will swoop through saturday into sunday. you will not feel that change until sunday. but eventually see temperatures moderate behind the cold front. keep in mind, once you put warm air right next to cold air, you are triggering thunderstorms. two systems make their way through over holiday weekend. then we take you through tomorrow, ohio valley gets that rain and move forward saturday

into sunday you'll start to see the mid-atlantic and even down to the southeast start to see more showers and difficult by sunday and monday and looks like we're seeing heavier rain once we finish off the labor day weekend. >> all right, that gives us the weather. the big question is now, what about prices at the pump? we all have big drives to make. let's get to christine romans. >> gas prices moving higher right now. following gas prices near two-year highs. a gallon of regular gas up two pennies today, but aaa says you'll see more people driving this weekend because gas up two pennies overnight still a lot cheaper than it was last year. about 20 cents cheaper today than it was last year. here's my advice, though, fill it up all the way while you can. the risks are for higher gasoline prices ahead. why? a strike on syria could boost gas pricess in the short term. crude oil prices are up 6%. other risks, a hurricane in the gulf and one reason gas prices were higher.

hurricane isaac in the gulf and all risks heading into the fall that could drive gas prices higher, chris. >> thank you very much, christine romans. a lot of news, as well. let's get right to michaela pereira. >> crews fighting the fire in and around yosemite national park still have their hands full, but progress, we're told, is visible. nearly 200,000 acres are burned and thousands of structures are still threatened, but firefighters that kept the flames from encroaching on yosemite's tourist areas is at 2% containment right now. folks evacuated from several communities actually returned home. a storm cell that dropped several inches of rain on forest falls triggered mudslides. the mud and debris flows are blocking access roads in five different locations. right now 1,500 people that live there cannot get in or out of millcreek canyon. one of the mud stretches out for a quarter mile. one of the concerns when these hard hit fire areas then have

massive amounts of rain. in our royal watch, the duchess of cambridge making her first appearance since becoming a mom at an ultramarathon on an island off the coast of wales. they met volunteers and infsome runners and their families. prince george did not come along for that outing. the feds won't get involved when it comes to marijuana in states that have legalized it. the justice department says it will not challenge laws in colorado and washington that let people buy, use and grow it. federal officials say they're instead going to focus on keeping marijuana away from children. so, let me ask you a question, so, you build yourself a lovely treehouse, 30 feet up. how do you get to it. that whole ladder climbing thing, so old. my man did it. ethan got super creative. borrowing on technology that is already existing. the bicycle, a great intervention. wasn't easy. he had to do some welding and take the gears and chain to get it to work.

that speaks for itself. pedal power to the rescue. >> i see a fault here, people. you get up and then how do you get into the treehouse? >> that is an engineering issue with the treehouse, not the elevator. >> good point. >> right? >> thank you. >> in the land of crazy, obviously, the elevator has to have something to do with how you get on the tree house. >> like to stay in the land of crazy as much as possible. we live in the land of crazy. >> you figure out that bike, you can figure out how to get into the tree house. what a tree house it was. >> much better than the refrigerator box i stuck in the tree for my kids. going to take a break here on "new day." when you come back, hey, extra strength tylenol, we heard warnings before. we have to listen up because the company thinks there needs to be a new one because of major health risks associated with the popular pain killer. guilty pleas and probation for three teenagers who beat up

a classmate on a florida school bus. one of their legal guardians is talking exclusively to cnn. what does she think about the sentence? you'll only hear it here. dad. how did you get here? i don't know. [ speaking in russian ] look, look, look... you probably want to get away as much as we do. with priceline express deals, you can get a fabulous hotel without bidding. think of the rubles you'll save. with one touch, fun in the sun. i like fun. well, that went exactly i as planned.. really?

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welcome back to "new day" everyone. something most likely in your medicine cabinet right now will get a safety makeover. come october expect to see a new warning on the caps of extra strength tylenol. that's why elizabeth cohen is here to explain. what is this new cap going to say? >> the cap is going to be really simple, you can't miss it. it will say that this product contains acetaminophen is a big

problem in this country. responsible for 56,000 emergency room visits every year and about 500 deaths. now, some of those are intentional. people are actually trying to hurt themselves, but many are accidental. kate? >> we all know an overdose means you're taking too much. it clearly says on the bottle how much you should take over a certain period of time. why are they concerned these overdoses are happening so often? >> some people disregard the directions. if it says take one, people think taking two, three or four is better. some people don't realize they're getting acetaminophen in tylenol and other products. let's say you had surgery and your doctor prescribes percocet and it has acetaminophen and you don't even know it. at the end of the evening you're uncomfortable and you want to

take nyquil. you probably don't even realize you have gotten a triple dose and if you do that for about a week, you can go into acute liver failure. this stuff can be very, very dangerous. you don't always realize you've taken it. >> excellent point and should be made more often. i'm sure we've all been victim to that and done it ourselves. thank you so much, elizabeth. an important new warning we should tell everyone about. coming up on "new day" cutting edge technology in forensic science. a document has leaked and revealing the true story behind the bin laden raid. you'll want to hear it. everybody loves a panda, right? well, like that guy right there as we take this live look inside the atlanta zoo. he has two new young brothers, hence why he's eating so much, he's depressed. i'm kidding. these little pandas could be the cutest things you've ever seen. we'll take you inside the nursery.

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you're watching "new day" with chris cuomo, kate bolduan and michaela pereira. >> welcome back to "new day" friday, august 30th. our new black in america documentary focuses on the achievement gap. going to air tonight on cnn. sole dad o'brien will be here with a preview. >> we're looking live at the panda exhibit at the atlanta zoo. look at that guy chomping down. they're so cute when they're big, even cuter when they're little. take you inside zoo atlanta to get an up close look at those very rare panda cub twins.

a deeper look into this story that we are following. this vicious school bus beating in florida. all three pled guilty to attacking a 14-year-old in july. the juvenile court judge sentensen sentenced to indefinite probation. not before playing that shocking video that caused so much outrage. pamela brown is in florida with the latest this morning. good morning, pamela. >> good morning to you, chris. it was very difficult to watch that video, again, in court yesterday. even for the prosecutor who got emotional because it was the first time that we saw it from beginning to end, seeing the moment right before the attack, as well. we heard for the first time from those 15-year-old boys about why they chose to viciously attack the 13-year-old victim. we spoke exclusively to one of their legal guardians who said her grandson is paying the full price for his actions. this video shows the three

15-year-old boy taunting the 13-year-old victim as he crouches in his seat. moments later, this. a vicious attack. video so powerful, even the prosecutor choked up. >> you could have killed this young man. >> reporter: one of the defendants legal guardians says watching the video made her want to save the victim from her own grandson. >> for that to happen to him, made me angry. and wanting to be in there to help him. >> reporter: in court the teens handed over apology letters and blame their actions on peer pressure after they say the victim wrongly accused them of selling drugs. >> this is what somebody else told me. >> i was being a follower. >> i was angry. i felt disrespected because something was said about me that wasn't true. >> there is very little doubt in my mind that you'd be heading to

some type of prison. >> reporter: instead indefinite probation due to their age. electronic monitoring, anger management counseling, strict curfew. >> when kids are away from home, they do what they choose to do. yes, we have spoken to them several times about hanging around the wrong people. about there are always consequences of things that you do rather positive or negative. there are going to be consequences. >> reporter: how are you handling this? how does a parent discipline their child after such a vicious act? >> i told him, i said you're acting like a criminal, going to treat you like as a criminal. >> reporter: and interesting, miller says that she actually think her grandson and the other

two teens should have been incarcerated for a few weeks so that they knew what that was like. but the prosecution maintains that giving a stricter punishment would have done more harm than good. now, as for that 13-year-old victim we spoke to his grandmother and she tells us that he's doing better and attending a new school now and still too afraid to get on a school bus. chris? >> that is interesting to hear from the parents. people have wanted that. maybe a better instruction and situation for the parent to be prosecuted for the behavior of the kids as opposed, and we still haven't heard from the school. we always see these incidents as bullying and what are we going to do, what's the policy, what do we teach our kids? nothing. how these kids get prosecuted by the system. clearly the answer to stopping these situations is not dealing with the kids themselves. you need a bigger message to go. >> but it is important, also, the kids have to be punished, but also to curtail that kind of

behavior. those kids their three lives don't have to be ruined from this. it's important to make sure they get the help they need. >> you can't do it just by punishing them, but a learning moment, that's what all the bullying campaigns are about. nice to see it here. you know. all right, so, let's come back to you because you have the five things that we need to know. tell the rest of us. >> today the obama administration will release intelligence backing up the u.s. claim that syria's assad regime was behind a chemical weapons attack. this as the british parliament votes no on am military intervection in syria. firefighters making progress with the rim fire near yosemite national park. one-third of that blaze is contained. expect to have it fully contained in two or three weeks. learning more about the raid that killed osama bin laden. the "washington post" reporting that the al qaeda leader's identity eight hours after he was killed by using dna from his corpse. no federal challenge to

state laws legalizing marijuana. eric holder says recent measures in colorado and washington state will stand. the laws allows recreational use of the drugs by adults. and the darling of this year's u.s. open at number five, 17-year-old victoria duval has been eliminated. losing second round match in straight sets. we're still cheering her on. she still has a great career ahead of her. always updating the five things to know. go to cnnnewday.com for the very latest. want to change directions and talk about something that a lot of eyes are on in our nation. the achievement gap. black and white students on proficiency tests. statistics show that black children lag behind white children in every major city in the united states. and it's the center of cnn's next "black in america" special and that brings a special lady to our set today. soledad o'brien reporting, airs

tonight at 10:00 p.m. a great "new day" welcome to you, soledad. >> i like your digs. looks nice. i think it's fair to say that the next front in civil rights is education. and when you look at students, usually students who are poor are getting bad educations and that achievement gap is actually massive in most major cities between black students and white students. we took a look at this documentary in at one particular little boy. he is 7 years old. he's already been in four schools and he still can't read. here's what it looks like. >> have you ever read this book. it's called duck on a bike. looks like it's about a duck on a bike. that's kind of silly. you ready? do you want me to use my finger. it was, do you recognize that word? >> fast -- >> fun. we do some math together. is that all right? 2 plus 2 equals -- how many

lavons are there? >> 70% of african-americans that are taking the state assessment, they're actually failing. i mean that kind of gives you an idea of the number of lavons that are out there. >> that gentleman has created a charter school and got permission to create more. but his strategy is different. longer school day, longer school year, the school is 99% black. and, also, they test constantly, every single day, every single week, all the time. there are people who are very critical of that. they call it drill and kill. here's what one critic had to say. >> what we don't need are more tests and charter schools that do drill and kill. >> what does drill and kill mean? >> an femphasis and focus on representation and does not evoke any level of creativity. >> we definitely drill, we don't

kill here. i believe that that's a negative connotation that they associated with working hard. i mean, our teachers work hard, our students work hard and they call it drill and kill. >> so, it's controversial. a lot of people fighting over the success of his school. of course, if he's successful, he's able to create more of them and it's something that has been a big issue. >> they have to agree on the fact that it's 70%. something has to be done. one piece of common ground. >> it's not just minneapolis, it's across the country. massive achievement gap in a population that is only growing. >> so, people are critical of the way this one school does it, what do they suggest as the alternative? something has to be done. you can't criticize someone who is trying to something. >> do you invest those limited dollars in a charter school, like his models or do you invest it in the public schools that are actually serving more black and brown students. at the end of the day, right, it's a zero sum game.

if you remove money from this and give it to that, you abandon some students in public schools. a pretty fierce debate about what should the future of education be, especially among kids that are poor in that fastest growing demographic. >> is he doing better than the traditional public schools? >> his proficiency rates are 70% and the elementary school that is next door is literally around 12%. >> your answer is yes. >> hugely better. also beating the white students' average, as well. he has closed the achievement gap. >> how much do you think the push back on is -- what do they call drill and kill or whatever that hipyperbole is. let's try to balance how he's doing well. >> everyone who is a teacher in minneapolis wants all students to achieve. the question becomes if you have one school doing well, is that the model to invest in and then leave the bulk of the students are not in his school. but most of the students are not

in his school. they are in other schools. invest in that and leave the others behind? or do you say we believe in public education and the reason in this country that we decided to make citizens that are knowledgeable. it's a good debate. >> this is a good debate. >> fantastic special. i cannot wait to see it. you can catch the latest installment of "black in america" tonight right here on cnn at 10:00 p.m. cannot wait to see this. soledad, so great to have you with us. >> thank you. likewise. >> congratulations. >> and a happy birthday to special people. >> my boys are in the building. >> good to see you, soledad. now the story of a woman working to make life better. 30% of people released from california's juvenile justice system ends up back behind bars within one year. that cnn hero said that's not okay, clearly not and giving at-risk youth the skills they need to do better.

>> i was selling drugs. >> once i had a record, i felt i was going to be able to get a job. >> you guys are the ones that know better than anybody. you're the ones that have to change. i worked as a juvenile corrections officer. often young people ready to start a new life and put them back in the exact same environment and they would come back to jail. witnessing that over and over i could not do something about it. i'm theresa goines started a supper club run by at-risk youths that give them the skills and opportunity to change their lives. our program provides four months of hands-on training. they get a chance to apply for an ememployee position. >> we do the hiring and firing and we do reviews. you know what it means to have sense of urgency. >> i want them to keep rising up in leadership and management. >> i used to just make raman and

grilled cheese and now i'm cooking everything on the menu. >> a lot of opportunities. this will help me stay out of trouble. >> the core of it is giving them hope. >> i'm going to be my own boss. >> i'm going to be an entrepreneur. >> i'm going to be successful. >> whatever they do, they're on their way to fly. >> all right. always good to hear people trying to make a difference with problems all around us. coming up on "new day" one of the cutest stories i think you'll ever see. look at him. they tell the stories with their little faces. a close-up look at the pride of the zoo atlanta, when we come back. ♪ (woman) this place has got really good chocolate shakes. (growls) (man) that's a good look for you.

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♪ adorable. you don't really need to say much for this segment. welcome back to "new day" and time now for the cute and cuddly report. not talking about chris, talking about the pandas. the only surviving twin pandas in the u.s. and they're growing fast. this morning take a look inside the nursery where they're being raised and elinena has a very special look. >> we did. right now inside the panda exhibit at the zoo and we have been hanging out all morning with this guy over here. want to show him to you. he is the cubs' older brother. one of them. by the way, it is his 5th birthday today. now, most people that come to the zoo don't get to look at the cubs and the mom up close. their only, glimpse, through panda cam. this monitor up here inside the

panda exhibit. we, however, got a very close look yesterday. this is panda b. >> this is cub b, yep. >> meet the twin panda brothers causing sheer pandamonium at the atlanta zoo. >> if it's possible, they get cuter every time i see them. >> reporter: we suited up to go inside the panda nursery. to see how the only set of surviving twin pandas in the u.s. are doing. >> they are really on track with the other cubs that we've had here. >> reporter: every week doctors give each cub a thorough check up. >> what are you doing now? checking eyes. >> checking eyes. looking at their gums and no teeth yet, not for a little while. >> reporter: each little guy is measured and weighed. doctors even listen to the heart and lungs. today we're told everything looks and sounds great. >> is he kind of prrring?

>> reporter: each cub weighs 4 pounds. they were as big as a stick of butter when they were born. to get where they are today they have been helping mom care for them. zoo staff swaps them out every four hours. sounds exhausting. >> it is exhausting, but with this cuteness you can't begrudge any of the long hours. the zoo says they pay to have the animals on loan. china is where the twins will end up in a few years. until then in the care of doting doctors and staffers. a has a little bit thinner ban over here on what we call the saddle compared to b. oh, my goodness. >> reporter: who can't get over

these sweet little faces. now back out here live, shelon has been munching on bamboo ever since we got here. he, by the way an adult panda. and they typically eat between 20 and 30 pounds of bamboo. now, as for the cubs it will be a while before you can see them here at the exhibits. we're also told they will be named when they reach the 100-day mark. that's in line with chinese tradition. for now known as panda a and panda b. >> they have a whole lot of catching up to do. four pounds now and they have a lot of eating to do to catch up with them. that's so cute. all right, elena, thank you so much. very fun assignment this friday. it does seem that we have another double stuff edition of the good stuff. in today's edition, here's the message. sometimes the best gifts are things you didn't ask for. three years ago san diego dad michael got a pretty lavish gift from his son, he decided to do something different. >> when we saw the list, we

started to realize he got a little obsessive. >> i asked for ipad and iphone and macbook. >> we really needed to do something. we decided to go downtown and deliver food to the homeless. >> my parents made me go with him because my christmas list was a little off the charts, too. started me off with just me and alec and then all our friends asked. it was just us seven boys. >> plan was to go through christmastime. that was going to originally be it. the first week we started, i knew that was not going to happen. not a stockipping of what start. >> generosity can spread faster than any virus. the friends affectiontally known as burrito boys. more people got the message, more people joined up, their efforts blossomed into hunger to help, a charity that passes out hundreds of burritos, clothes and other essentials to the homeless every sunday.

okay. since those christmas lists, hunger to help has passed out nearly 40,000 burritos. okay. that is a gift that not even santa could give. >> start would a christmas list full of ipads and iphones. >> get overwhelmed by the awfulness of humanity, but this gives you hope. >> you know what, it is every parent's lumeant. i have never seen it work otherwise where a child or adult when they are exposed to what that dynamic is of giving to others doesn't feel as if they don't get more. >> what is special about it, not that one boy, it spread to all of his friends, which is just spectacular. that's great. the burrito boys. >> giving is cool. we love this. give us more, please. tweet us, facebook, #goodstuff or go to our swilt. give the ideas so we can keep telling you the good news.

think about while we take a break here on "new day." have you driven a ford lately? was it one wrapped in bacon? j.b.'s new day award of the day j.b.'s new day award of the day is just that. like carpools... polly wants to know if we can pick her up. yeah, we can make room. yeah. [ male announcer ] ...office space. yes, we're loving this communal seating. it's great. [ male announcer ] the best thing to share? a data plan. at&t mobile share for business. one bucket of data for everyone on the plan, unlimited talk and text on smart phones. now, everyone's in the spirit of sharing. hey, can i borrow your boat this weekend? no. [ male announcer ] share more. save more. at&t mobile share for business. ♪ at&t mobile share for business. nascar is about excitement. but tracking all the action and hearing everything from our marketing partners, the media and millions of fans on social media can be a challenge. that's why we partnered with hp to build the new nascar fan and media engagement center.

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pep" a quick look at our top stories. the obama administration releasing intelligence that it says backs up the assessment that the syrian government poisoned its own people. a senior administration official said the attack happened outside damascus. 32% containment now reported on california's rim fire that has burned through nearly 200,000 acres in and around yosemite national park. u.s. forest service expects the suborn wildfire to burn for a few more weeks. a truce in the war on drugs. the justice department says it will not challenge state law legalizing recreational marijuana use. instead it plans on focusing on keeping marijuana away from children. those are your headlines, guys. how about a little trip to the couch. new day award of the day. >> every day we're working to be an even better company and keep our commitments. we made a big commitment to america. bp supports nearly 250,000 jobs here. through all of our energy operations, we invest more in

the u.s. than any other place in the world. in fact, we've invested over $55 billion here in the last five years. making bp america's largest energy investor. our commitment has never been stronger. >> try to time the sit. okay, that time of the morning. that time of the week and friday strong with john berman in d.c. where all great men reside with his new day award of the day award. what do you have for us, my handsome friend. >> great to see you this friday. many of you celebrating the long labor day weekend this weekend. not all of us, but many of you. i digress. an even more important holiday, tomorrow is international bacon day. i have my stocking up by the fireplace and hoping the bacon fairy puts strips under my pillow. there is another way to celebrate, though.

ford, that's right, the car company ford is offering a chance for their drivers to wrap their cars in bacon. sort of. they're offering these vinyl decals for 2014 ford fiestas. bacon decals. it's not a fiesta if there's not bacon. prices start at 78 bucks plus ins insulation, it's fairly expensive. that's pretty good bacon. >> the total cost of the car. >> you have to get the car first and then the decals. >> i think it is a powerful statement, nevertheless. so, ford does win the most lickable car award. right? >> very good. >> because it's bacon. i do foresee some problems. you want people to like your car, but not bite it. right? >> i foresee more accidents, an accident rate with that car. >> oh, bacon. >> new bacon. >> i never licked bacon, either. >> you haven't lived. .

you haven't lived, chris cuomo.

"newsroom" with carol costello begins now. >> have a great labor day weekend. thanks so much. bye. "newsroom" starts now. happening now in "newsroom" abandoning obama and the solo strike. >> for the president to act without authorization. >> a coalition crumbles and allies ditch america. >> the president is going to have to make his case. >> i do believe we have to do something. >> will the u.s. go it alone? also,